


The Wedding of Cindy Eckert

by zarrati



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: F/M, ex girlfriend's wedding trope, fake dating trope, sharing a hotel room trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 16:38:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6527857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarrati/pseuds/zarrati
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Ben receives an invite to Cindy Eckert's wedding, Leslie volunteers to go to Partridge with him as his "fiance". Ben's just glad that Chris' rule doesn't apply across state lines.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wedding of Cindy Eckert

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the fic prompt asking for the one hotel room and fake dating trope

The invitation mocked him, with it’s fancy calligraphy, light dusting of glitter, and tired cliches about love.

It’s not that Ben was jealous. He really wasn’t. She wasn’t ever really his girlfriend, and if sending him this invitation was any indication, she was still kind of a huge jerk.

Cindy Eckert was getting married in Partridge, and she had the nerve to send him an invitation.

“Hey, Ben, I need your signature on these requisition forms.”

Great, now Leslie Knope, the one woman he wanted but couldn’t have, had to come just to remind him of his pathetic existence.

“Whoa,” she said stopping on the other side of his desk, “you look upset. Like, more upset than usual. What’s wrong?”

He pointed to the card with his chin.

“Oh, wow,” she said picking it up. “This is some heavy duty card stock. And the calligraphy work is incredible.”

“Read who it’s from.”

“You are cordially invited to… oh. I didn’t know you guys still kept in touch.”

He scoffed. “We don’t. We haven’t. Not since the whole Ice Town debacle. I don’t know how she even got my address.”

Leslie frowned and reread the card. “That’s weird.”

“It’s classic Cindy. She lives for drama. She probably did it to rub it in my face. She’s marrying a super rich senator or something. Get this, all out of town guests are being put up in one of the fanciest hotels in the city for _two_ nights on his dime.”

“Well, you’re going, right?”

Ben stared at her for a solid thirty seconds. “Are you kidding me? Go to my ex-barely-girlfriend’s wedding, in the town that I nearly destroyed where everyone hates me, alone. I’d either die of humiliation or they’d literally use that as the opportunity to kill me. After I was impeached, she basically blew me off and said that no woman would ever want me after what I’ve done. There’s no way I’m showing up solo to her wedding. Hell, I’m not setting foot in Partridge again unless absolutely necessary.”

“No way, that’s ridiculous. I will not sit idly by and watch you throw away this opportunity. You’re not little Benji Wyatt anymore. You’re the assistant city manager of _the_  greatest city in America. Plus, you know she just did this to be a jerk. What better way to show her up than to come, make that rich future husband of hers pay for a high class room, _and_  for your ridiculously expensive dinner plate at the reception.”

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “It sounds tempting, but I don’t know. Going there alone will just kind of negate all of that. That’s always awkward.”

“You don’t get to tell me awkward until you’re the only single person at the reception and the bride makes you dance to _Single Ladies_  by yourself.”

“That happened to you?”

“Maybe, but that doesn’t matter. You _have_  to go. Oh! I can go with you and pretend to be your girlfriend or fiancée or whatever. It always works in the movies. They don’t need to know the truth. You just show up totally _not_  alone, and make everyone eat their words.”

This was a bad idea. A very _very_ bad idea. Going back to his hometown pretending to be dating Leslie. Sharing a hotel room with Leslie.

Leslie Knope, the woman that he can’t date not matter how much he wants to under penalty of unemployment, wants to go with him to Partridge.

“I guess it would be kinda nice to see their faces once they realize I’m not the total loser they always thought I’d be…”

“Super nice.”

“Show up Cindy Eckert, too.”

“She won’t even see it coming.”

He bit his lip, torn between doing the right thing and what he wanted to do.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Yes!” Leslie yelled out. “You won’t regret it.”

“I hope not. Oh, just to be safe, though, make a note on the invitation to put the room reservation in your name. It’ll probably be safer that way.”

“Oh, yeah, good point. But yay! Partridge, here we come.”

~~~~~

“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” Leslie said as they pulled up in front of the hotel. “This place is unreal.”

“Yup. How about I take care of the bags and the valet, and you go check us in. Is that okay?”

“Sure, no problem.”

A few minutes later, he’s wheeling the luggage in and Leslie’s waiting for him with a smile.

He almost pinched himself to make sure this was real. Well, kind of real.

He was in Partridge with Leslie Knope playing his pretend fiancée checking in for them at a hotel as though it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

And they were about to go up together to their one room.

“Hey,” she said as he walked up to her. “We’re all checked in, courtesy of the Senator. The wedding isn’t until tomorrow, so we have the rest of the night to do whatever. I was thinking that we go up to the room and review our cover story a bit, and then you give me a grand tour of Partridge.”

She was well aware by now that he had a hard time saying no to her. “Yeah, okay, that sounds like a good idea.” He paused when he saw something sparkle on her left hand. “Where’d you get that?”

“Oh, it’s my mom’s engagement ring. I figured it’d be weird if I showed up as your fiancée and not have a ring.”

“Uh, yeah, you’re right.”

They walked over to the elevator and waited. “So, backstory. Kind of keep it pretty true to life. We met through your job as an auditor, maybe stretch out how long you were there so it doesn’t look too rushed. Then you accepted the full time job in Pawnee to be with me and that’s when you proposed. Sound good to you?”

It was so on the nose, there was going to be barely any lying at all. “Yeah, sounds good. Pretty reasonable. I guess we can work on the rest of the relationship stuff later like first dates and wedding plans and things like that.”

“You’re in luck because in my suitcase is a binder for you with the breakdown of Leslie and Ben’s fake relationship. Study that and you’ll be golden.”

He laughed to himself as they stepped onto the elevator. 

She had a binder. Why was he not surprised.

~~~~~

Ben took Leslie on a tour of Partridge, and at her suggestion, they acted as though they were a real couple. Practice for the wedding, she had said.

It was almost embarrassing how easily they had slipped into the roles once Ben decided to just say screw it and enjoy their time together. Chris was five hundred miles away, and if this was the closest to dating Leslie Knope that he could get, Ben was going to take advantage of it.

She insisted on taking pictures of Ben in front of City Hall, oooo’d and ahhhh’d when they drove past his high school, and she even stole bits of his frozen yogurt as they walked down main street.

It felt all too natural when his fingers intertwined with hers as they walked past the shops, just like any other couple.

When his arms slipped around her waist at the crosswalk, he knew he was totally screwed.

~~~~~

“That was really fun!” Leslie said, flopping down on the bed. “Partridge is adorable.”

“It actually wasn’t as bad as I would have thought. I guess people on the street don’t really recognize me as much anymore.”

“See? You were worried for nothing.”

“Oh, no,” he answered, sitting down next to her. “Tomorrow is when I really have to worry. That’s when I’ll need you the most.”

She sat up on the bed and nudged his shoulder. “And that’s why I’m here.”

They were too close. Way too close. Close enough that he might do something stupid if he didn’t get up soon.

“Well, it’s getting late. For me, at least. I’m gonna go get ready for bed and set up camp on the couch.”

“Are you sure you don’t want the bed? I’m smaller than you. I don’t mind the couch.”

“No way. You’re doing me a huge favor coming out here with me. The least I can do is let you have the bed. Seriously, it’s fine.”

She frowned, but eventually shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, if you insist.”

He grabbed his toiletry bag and sleep clothes. “I do. And I won’t even be the least bit bothered by you staying up late working on those work binders you think I didn’t see you hide.” 

“Thanks.” She yawned then, stretching her arms up above her head. Her shirt lifted just above the waist of her pants, revealing pale skin.

It was going to be a long night.

~~~~~

Leslie sitting on the bed working was not only the last thing he saw before he fell asleep, but also the first when he opened his eyes the next morning.

“Morning, sleepy head,” she smiled over at him. “Did you sleep okay?”

He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. “Uhm, yeah. This couch was more comfortable than the mattress I used to sleep on at the Pawnee Super Suites. Did you?”

“Oh, yeah. Like a baby. I made coffee if you want some.”

“Thanks. It’ll take me a second to function like a human being again.” 

He shuffled to the bathroom, hoping that he was able to hide his…morning _situation_  from her on the way across the room.

When he came out, she was at the little kitchenette fixing a cup of coffee. 

Damn, how did she make pajamas with popsicles on them look sexy?

She turned and smiled up at him again, handing over the cup. “I remember just how you like it, which is gross because there’s barely any sugar in here, but whatever.”

It was all so domestic, it made his heart hurt. 

“Oh, thanks. That’s really nice.”

“Don’t mention it. I might be doing you a favor, but I’m also getting a free mini vacation out of all of this, so it’s a give and take. Plus, I know you can be a bit of a bear before your morning caffeine, so this is more survival than anything.”

“Then I thank you for both of our sake’s.”

She cackled. “Oh! So we have a few more hours before we have to get ready for the wedding, so how about we order in some breakfast and practice some more. Don’t forget that we’re engaged and madly in love, so we need to act like it.”

He grimaced when he burned his lip on the hot liquid. _Acting_  like he had feelings for Leslie was the easy part. It was remembering that none of it was for real that was the problem.

“Yeah, sure, sounds good.”

At least he was getting better at lying.

~~~~~

He was working on his tie when Leslie came out of the bathroom, and he almost stopped breathing.

Her floor length gown hugged her body in all of the right places, and her hair was swept up away from her face.

“Hey, can you help me with the clasp on this?”

She held out the necklace to him, and all he could see was neck when she turned around. Gorgeous, perfect skin that he wanted to taste more than anything in the world.

His hands were shaking, which made the task a little more difficult, but he succeeded. “Uhm, there you go.”

“Thanks.” She turned around and smoother out the fabric. “What do you think? Will I fit in with a bunch of rich snobs?”

“Leslie, you–you look amazing. You’ll make everyone in that room jealous. Are you sure you wanna walk in with me?”

She grinned and slapped his shoulder. “Oh, stop. You look great, too. Very dapper. I’ll have the most handsome fiancé there.”

“We can agree to disagree on that one, but as long as _you_  think that, that’s all I’m going for.”

He had no idea what came over him, but he grasped her hand and brought it up to his lips. “Ready to go, fake future-wife?”

She swallowed hard. “Yeah, I’m ready fake future-husband.”

~~~~~

The wedding was every bit as extravagant as Ben expected. 

The church was filled with exotic flowers, and Cindy’s dress looked like it cost more than his car.

Even he had to admit that she looked beautiful, but he couldn’t stop thinking about how amazing that dress would look on Leslie.

But no, that wasn’t her style. She’d go more simple and elegant. And the only reason he was thinking about it was because they had gone over their fake wedding plans for their cover story.

Yeah, that was totally it.

His arm went around her waist during the vows, and she rested her head on his shoulder. You know, in case people were watching.

But if the wedding was out of this world, it had nothing on the reception.

“I don’t even want to know how much this cost,” Leslie whispered to him as they walked into the ballroom and found their table. 

“Neither do I, but they have an actual chocolate fountain and open bar, so I don’t care.”

“Holy crap. You don’t have any other super rich friends that are getting married and you need a fake date to, right? Because if you do, I volunteer to be your plus one forever and ever.”

“Sadly, no. But if any more come out of the woodwork, you’ll be my number one.”

“Yes! Oh, so how’s the seating situation looking? Anyone we have to be particularly worried about?”

“I don’t recognize any names. Maybe she took pity on us and put us with some other out-of-towners that have no idea who I am. That or she didn’t want anyone beating me up at her reception. Either way, it should work out for us.”

Thankfully, he didn’t recognize anyone at their table, nor did they seem to know him.

They all exchanged introductions and pleasantries, and there were no harsh looks or food thrown at him, so it was going good so far.

He didn’t relax fully until the second course, but Leslie’s reassuring squeezes on his thigh certainly helped.

The other couples at the table kept asking questions about their own “upcoming” wedding, and Leslie answered them all like the eager bride-to-be.

“Well,” the older woman on Leslie’s right had said halfway through the entree, “you two look just so much in love. I wish you all the best.”

Leslie blushed, leaning into Ben and staring up at him. “Thank you. We are.”

And he smiled, because that’s all he could do, even though those words were like a knife to the stomach.

As the night went on and Ben took full advantage of the open bar, he got more and more comfortable playing the part of the love-struck fiancé. Or he got worse and repressing his feelings. Either way, it was working.

He got a few harsh stares and whispers behind his back, but thankfully everyone was respecting the sanctity of the reception. But he was buzzed and full enough to not give a flying fart. He had food, he had alcohol, and he had the most gorgeous fake fiancée in the entire world.

He had Leslie in his arms on the dance floor when Cindy walked up to them in all of her bridal glory.

Ben had been around enough people to know a fake smile when he saw it.

“Benji! Oh, my goodness, you actually came. I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see your RSVP. Not to mention that you were engaged. That little bit of info seemed to slip through the cracks in the grape vine.”

Ben smiled tightly, and he could feel Leslie’s anger as her nails dug into his arm. “Uh, yeah. Leslie’s been wanting to visit Partridge for a while now, and this was the perfect opportunity. Congratulations, but the way.”

Leslie slid her arm around his waist. “It’s true. Thank you so much for inviting us. Everything’s been lovely. Given us some great new ideas for our wedding.”

Cindy’s lips tightened into a thin line. “That’s nice. I’m just shocked you actually came back. You’re still a sore subject around here.”

“He almost didn’t,” Leslie answered, moving her body so that she was now between Cindy and Ben. “But I told him it was time, and he’s accomplished so much since then. We met because he came and helped save my town and department from bankruptcy. He’s done that for dozens of cities across the state, and now he’s basically running our city.”

“Well, Benji, you certainly have quite the cheerleader here.”

He wrapped his arm around Leslie’s shoulder and kissed the side of her head. “Yeah, she’s my biggest fan, that’s for sure.”

“Cute.” She didn’t sound like she thought it was cute at all. “Well, you’ll have to excuse me. You know, have to play hostess and all that. It was, uh, nice to see you.”

“Wow, she is the absolute worst,” Leslie said as she wrapped her arms around his neck for the next dance.

“Yeah, good to know she hasn’t changed all that much. And thanks for all that. Sticking up for me.”

“That’s why I’m here, and I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. We really do owe you a lot. I’m…I’m glad you decided to stay.”

“Me, too.”

He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as they swayed to the music. It’s totally fine, he told himself. This is how engaged people act. It’s fine.

And Leslie didn’t seem to mind at all. Her arms squeezed a little tighter and her hands starting playing with the ends of his hair.

“Can I ask you something?” she whispered, and he nodded.

“Of course. You can ask me anything.”

“Was it me? When you asked Chris about dating someone. Was it me?”

He sighed and kept his eyes closed because if he looked at her he knew he’d lose his nerve.

“Yeah, it was you. Just as a first step. I didn’t even know how you felt or anything. But yeah, it was you.”

He felt her nod slowly. “Okay. I don’t think this will make you feel any better, but I hate Chris’ rule probably as much as you do. And my motivations for doing this weren’t purely selfless. I guess I wanted to know what it’d be like to date you even if it was just pretend. I really like it. Probably too much.”

“Me, too. I think I’d give anything to be able to try this for real.”

She started playing with his tie. “Well, Chris isn’t here and we have the rest of the weekend…”

“God, Leslie, you don’t know how much I want that, but I care about you too much for this to be a one time thing. Can you honestly say that would make things any easier once we get back to Pawnee?”

She shook her head sadly. “No. The opposite, actually.”

“And I know how much your job means to you. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”

“It’s your job, too.”

“I don’t care about that nearly as much. A huge part of why I chose to stay in Pawnee was because of you. There are some things I’m willing to risk.”

“So, basically, it’s my decision?”

He sighed and squeezed her waist. “I don’t mean it like that. In a way, yeah, but I don’t expect you to risk your career to be with me. Maybe we can work something out. I don’t know. It’s just…whatever you want to do, I’ll do it. If you want to pretend this conversation never happened, I’ll respect that. If you want to wait things out and see what happens or sneak around, I’m fine with that, too. I care about you a lot, Leslie. I just want you to know that. And I value your friendship more than anything. I guess I just want you in my life in any way that I can, even if it’s a little selfish of me.”

“Before this weekend, I don’t know if I would have been willing to put dating over work stuff, but now... Now I have just a little taste of what it could be like, and I want it. I want it so badly.”

His heart was racing and because he was a selfish jerk, he cupped Leslie’s cheeks and kissed her. Kissed her like she really _was_  his fiancée and they were madly in love. Kissed her like he always dreamed of just in case this was his only chance.

When he tried to pull away, she didn’t let him. She gripped his jacket  and pulled him back, sighing into his mouth.

“I think we should stop before we upstage the bride and groom,” he whispered against her lips, and she smiled.

“Yeah, probably a good idea.”

But instead of pulling away and acting as though nothing happened, she grabbed his hand and lead him off of the dance floor.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to the room. I don’t know how we’re gonna work it out once we get back to Pawnee, and right now, I don’t care. But I want this, and we’ll just have to figure out how to make it work.”

When they were back in the room, his hands in her hair as they tumbled on the bed, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thanked Cindy Eckert.


End file.
